Question

Why did many Americans fear Communism?

Answer 1

They were scared of how rapidly it was spreading. It had taken control of some strong powers which the Americans feared could lead to a war. It lead to the cold war which isn't a physical war but it was a very frightening. Both sides had control over hundreds of nuclear warheads, so yea, we peed our pants.  All it took was a simple remark to mark the end of humanity.  It went a little like this;

Communist: Say I wont press the button.

Us: You wont.

Coms: WHAT??? *Reaches for button*

US: NO I WAS JOKING! WE WILL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT!

Coms: Keep talking...

And that pretty much what happened. The communist were strong back then, who knows what there capable of in the future.

Hope I helped. :)

Answer 2

There were many reasons why the United States was afraid of communism, or why they did not think it was convenient for them if communism spread. The United States wanted to be the main superpower following WWII. Its competition had greatly been reduced due to the destruction that took place in Europe. However, Russia was still a great power, which threatened American supremacy.

Moreover, the United States had developed nuclear weapons, which they had used against Japan. When the Soviet Union began to create their own nuclear arsenal, the United States was worried about what could happen if two countries did not get along and they both had nuclear weapons. However, neither one of them wanted to give them up.

Finally, the United States believed that its economy was going to improve even more if they had unlimited access to the markets of the whole world. As communism was spreading in the developing world, they were worried that this was going to lead to countries being less open to American exploitation.